The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1887-05-05
INVENTORS AND INVENTIONS,
How Their Practicability and Imprac-
ticability are Thoroughly Tested.

IlNVCN OhO AMI tNVGN tOINSs
How Their PracticabiIity and Imprac-
ticability are Thoroughly Tested.
'Is this the place where inventors
ideas are put into practical shape?"
eyes, this is where it is done. -
The reporter saw some very queer de-
vices, with workmen in greasy caps and
overalls busily at work filing and punch
ing iron and steel, and twisting or chisel-
ing this or that part to make it tit. He
came to the conclusion that be had struck
the ground floor of inventions that were
destined to be either great successes or
great failures.
Other men, evidently not connected
with the establishment, were standing at
the elbows of the WOrkmen watching
closely the result of the application Of
file or a punch. There was an air Of alb
sorbing interest about them, as if the fate
of a beloved child hung in the balance.
Thought was evidently searching for its
materialized body, and it depended
largely on the power Of the inventor to
impart his idea to the workman and On
the receptive power Of the workman,
coupled with the skill to mold and shape
the metals, whether success OF failure
was ahead.
''The vast majority OF inventors, >" said
the manager, ''are men of good ideas,
but possessed Cf no mechanical knowl-
edge. They come to us with their ideas.
Most of them get their patents sometimes
without having any working model, and
are unable to even test their ideas in the
most preliminary way. We look into
the ideas, and according as we judge
them practical or the reverse. we expert
ment with them or reject them. [ have
turned away as many as three new inven-
tons day because I considered them
impracticable, refus ng to take the in
ventors money tt work them out.
About one-half of I'll that come here are
inpracticable, or if practicable, would be
worth nothing to the public. We have
had inventors get very angry because we
wouldn't let them go on and spend money
in trying to work out what we believed,
from a practical experience of forty
years, could not be a success. -
'fWhat is the trouble generally?i
cone great trouble is. that an inventor
is not complete being. He lacks his
practical half and it is not until he finds
that other half of him that he goes ahead.
Another trouble is that they don t fully
explain their invention, for fear somebody
will steal it; SO the experimenter has to
work largely In the dark, 4"
80 men are in waiting to steal other
peoples brains, are they?''
''Oh, yes. There are so many vacuulns
that if all idea once gets loose it is COB
bled up in a flash. One great trouble
with inventors as to the development Of
their inventions lies in the fact that very
few of them have any capital. They
need that and partner OF a practical
cast of mind''
s'HOH is it when they sell out?''
''Well, an inventor hardly ever gets
much for an incomplete invention if sold
out plump If he sells for a ROYALTY he
/ generally gets cheated. No matter how
high the firm stands that contracts to
pay a royalty, it nets him very little,
even when it brings large sums into the
firms Golfers. If there is being upon
the earth that deserves sympathy and
help it is the poor inventor. If it were
not for him mankind would scarcely
have clothes to cover them"
'Do you know any that have got
rich?''
"Here's one I knew years ago, when
he was well off. He is now poor. lie
has expended all his money. His ideas
are good, but so far they have not been
largely successful and he is selling other
peoples Inventions while perfectiag his
own. have known a great many that
| came here poor and have become rich.
There, for instance, is Howe. He never
succeeded till Singer took hold and made
a fortune and all Howe had out Of il
was his royalty on the eye Of the needle.
After he got started and got q practical
man with him he made great fortune.
But he went around vainly begging Tor
help for two years. He get his meIi5ad
success at last, but there is many d man
rolling in luxury to-day that was bought
with the outcome of stolen brains, while
the rightful owner is starving"
"What is your advice to inventors"
''They must fit burglar alarm on
their ideas. Let them look very sharply
at a contract that agrees to the payment
of a royalty. They must be sure and
find their missing half. They should
very carefully consider whether what
they are seeking to perfect win be Of any
special value to the public if it be per-
! fected,-New York Sun Interview.